Monday, 04Set23, 09h00 – 10h00

Chipless RFID Technology

Abstract

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) presents itself as a low-cost wireless technology which opens the way to the connection of an incredibly large number of intelligent objects to the Internet, enabling to engage, identify, locate, transact, and authenticate products. RFID market has been identified as a growing market of enormous potentiality over the past few years. It is worth observing that most of RFID applications in logistics and other areas can be effectively successful in the market only if the cost of RFID tags drops to a very low price. Standard RFID tags do contain chipsets, which need to get the power required for their activation from the reader, through an energy harvesting procedure.

In this context, chipless RFID represents an emerging technology aimed at the identification of objects, authentication and sensing. The basic idea is to simplify further the tag by removing any active circuit from it. Indeed, even if the cost of chipped RFID tags is already low (about 10 cents of a US dollar when distributed in large quantities), the removal of the integrated circuit could make radio frequency labels available at a sub-cent cost. In this respect, it is important to consider that chipless tag fabrication is fully compatible with printed electronics low-cost manufacturing methods such as, for instance, screen printing, gravure, offset lithography, and inkjet printing. Another important advantage connected with the absence of the integrated circuit on tags is the application of radio frequency labels in extreme environments when electronics cannot be used. Some application examples of chipless RFID technology will be shown to the end of demonstrating its potentialities.

Bio

Linear Time-Variant and Non-Linear Transponders for Identification and Sensing Applications

Abstract

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is an essential technology to identify items reliably using tags based on silicon chips. More recently, chipless RFID came with the promise to drastically reduce the cost of a tag by removing the chip, however this technology also introduced significant constraints in practical applications. This presentation investigates two new directions for realizing the function of identification and sensing using radio frequency signals. These techniques are able to break the time-invariance and/or the linearity of the transponders and represent a completely different views compared to the classical paradigm used in the RFID chipless technology. The first direction addresses transponders which can break the time-invariance property by modulating their backscattered field. The second direction focuses on non-linear transponders which can break the linearity property and generate harmonics. Linear time-variant and non-linear transponders offer interesting properties to realize both identification and sensing compared to linear time-invariant tags. Finally, these transponders are characterized by a read range and a coding capacity which can outperform by a factor 30 the ones associated with the chipless technology.

Bio

Wednesday, Sep 6, 09:00 – 09:30

Space Tags

Abstract

Space agencies worldwide have a long-term vision of sending human-crewed missions to Mars. The next favorable launch window is in 2033, and planning is underway to make such ventures a reality. A crucial part of these preparations is the search for new technologies to reduce the risks of the missions. One technological advance critical to this end is battery-less wireless sensor technology, as used in the Internet of Things (IoT), which can be used advantageously to continuously monitor the physiological condition of crewmembers in the space habitat and the structural health of space equipment. State-of-the-art battery-less wireless sensors are not yet suitable for operation in the space environment; key reliability issues remain to be addressed. These challenges include scarce power resources due to battery-less sensor operation, which is also a problem on Earth. The talk will review existing work on battery-less wireless sensors for reliable operation at ultra-low power consumption, focusing on batteryless wireless sensors using ultra-high-frequency radio frequency identification technology.

Bio

Jasmin Grosinger is an Associate Professor at the Graz University of Technology in Austria. She earned her MSc from the Vienna University of Technology and worked as a Project Assistant with the Institute of Telecommunications. She later became a Laboratory Associate with Disney Research in Pittsburgh, USA. In 2012, she received her PhD from the Vienna University of Technology. Since 2013, she has researched (ultra) low-power microwave components and systems at Graz University of Technology’s Institute of Microwave and Photonic Engineering. Jasmin has also been a Guest Professor at Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg’s Institute of Electronics Engineering. She is an IEEE Senior Member, and her research has resulted in more than 60 peer-reviewed publications and one US patent. Jasmin is actively involved in the Technical Program and Steering Committees of various microwave-related conferences and is an Associate Editor of the IEEE Microwave and Wireless Technology Letters. She is also a member of the IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society (MTT-S) and was selected as a Distinguished Microwave Lecturer. In 2022, Jasmin served as the MTT-S AdCom Secretary. Since 2023, she has served as an Elected Voting Member of the IEEE MTT-S Administrative Committee, working as Vice Chair of the Publication and Meetings and Symposia Committees.